11 - Wesley Witherspoon

Memphis

NBA Comparison: N/A

Strengths- Witherspoon is a very long 6’9 wing who has great size on the perimeter…Pretty experienced player, started on and off for 3 seasons at Memphis…Is blessed with good natural talent and versatility for his size as well, which caused much of the intrigue surrounding him as a prospect…Played PG-PF while at Memphis, and was a true Swiss army knife…Good athleticism for his size, highly fluid and coordinated…Pretty good quickness and reactivity…On offense, Witherspoon at his best is able to use his quickness to pose problems for bigger frontcourt player and use his size to make plays when on the wing…Decent ball-handler for a 6’9 player, doesn’t look out of place on the wing at all…Improved his jump shot a good bit since he arrived at Memphis, and now is a respectable shooter with his feet set…Has a soft touch…Given that he has spent time playing PG in the past, he is a relatively good passer and has the size to make impressive feeds on the perimeter…Has the athleticism, length and size to defend multiple positions at the next level…Runs the floor well and has the tools to be an effective player in an up-tempo style…Will get his hands on passes when dialed in defensively, as he has the length to be a threat in the passing lanes getting steals and deflections…Is effective bothering shots due to his length as well…When he plays with energy, he is a tough matchup on both ends of the floor…Sometimes hints at impressive finishing ability at the rim

Weaknesses- After breaking out as a Soph. and becoming a hot name in scouting circles, Witherspoon regressed in unsightly fashion in his last 2 seasons in the C-USA…Doesn’t seem to be the most mentally (or physically) tough player…Even though he stands tall for a wing and improved his frame, Witherspoon still is not very strong, and it had a negative effect on his game as he career went on…Doesn’t like contact…Can be bullied and taken out of games by physical matchups, and that happened to him a bunch in the 2nd half of his Memphis career…Is prone to disappearing from games, isn’t aggressive and plays a bit tentative…Despite his versatility, Witherspoon doesn’t have a stand-out trait, and it caused him to be an extremely inconsistent performer…Was most effective in college when he played the PF spot, which doesn’t bode well considering he doesn’t have enough size or strength to compete against pro-level PF’s…Low basketball IQ, was prone to showing a lack of awareness on both ends of the floor…Became more and more less committed defensively as his career progressed, going from a high energy defender early on to one who showed little accountability and fundamentals as his career came to an end...Although he’s a respectable ball-handler, the right-handed Witherspoon is highly reliant on his left hand off the dribble, making him a highly predictable player with the ball…He can make shots with his feet set and with space, but he is a poor shooter against contests or when he shoots off the bounce…Lacks maturity…Despite being one of the few experienced performers on the Memphis team, Witherspoon never took charge and accepted a leadership role, often looking just as much or more out of wack with the team than the younger players…Had a few in-house clashings with Coach Pastner, and was benched or suspended a few times in his career…Has natural talent and was viewed as a high upside prospect in HS and in the early stages of his Memphis career, but never completely harnessed it in college…Poor rebounder for a guy with his tools

Overall- Witherspoon has the size and versatility to be an imtrigue prospect still, and he’s experienced…His experience playing everything except C at Memphis interesting…He has no niche, isn’t tough, aggressive or strong, and he has a bunch of unpolished areas of his game though…And to add to that, he didn’t show much maturity and got less and less effective after his 2nd year…He may get chances to prove his worth to an NBA team, but Witherspoon is a longshot with many things working against him...